BBC Two’s Peaky Blinders is a stylish but predictable gangster tale

New six part drama Peaky Blinders promised all the grit and vigour of a modern day story, yet is set in 1919.

Comparisons have been drawn to HBO hit Boardwalk Empire, but I felt the production had The Wire written all over it.

The Shelby family, head of the Peaky Blinder gang, have a complex moral code and look after their own. At several points Tommy Shelby, played by a strangely ageless Cillian Murphy, was strongly reminiscent of everyone’s favourite gangster, Omar Little.

A classy story, with relevance to present day events, Peaky Blinders takes us to post WW1 Birmingham. The gang rules the streets, and get their name from the razor blades sewn into their caps. I expect to see peaked caps hitting the high streets soon, though hopefully without the concealed weaponry.

There are problems within the family. Eldest brother Arthur tries to rule the roost but is continually upstaged by charismatic Tommy. Unbeknown to Arthur, Tommy has authorised the robbery of some motorcycle parts from the local factory, however munitions were stolen instead. This has brought Chief Inspector Campbell (Sam Neill) over from sorting out the IRA in Belfast to find the missing weapons and their thief.

The Peaky Blinders are asked to help; Campbell’s prejudices leading him to believe that the IRA are responsible for the theft, but Tommy is unsure of buddying up with the cops. Against his Aunt Polly’s advice, who knows the truth about the robbery, he stores the munitions, planning a war against the police.

Aunt Polly, as I suspected before watching, is the real star of this show. Played magnificently by Helen McCrory, this role is sure to catapult the actress to similar heights of fame as her husband, Homeland’s Damian Lewis. McCrory is already a respected performer in her own right, with roles in Harry Potter and The Queen, but I don’t feel she is as well known yet as she should be.

Aunt Polly Gray played by Helen McCrory is the star of the show (Picture: Tiger Aspect/Robert Viglasky)

The plot tries hard to come up with twists but I’m afraid I guessed each one. The pretty Irish barmaid was clearly a police plant; no one that innocent could also be that tough unless she had a strong power, like the police, behind her. I’m waiting for the inevitable romance between her and Tommy to start up.

Likewise, while Tommy’s merciful shooting of friend Danny Whizzbang, driven to murder an Italian by visions of the war, were some of the best scenes in this episode, I guessed that Danny would survive the shooting. Sure enough, Danny is off to London on a secret mission and is now an official Peaky Blinder.

So have I joined the gang? Well yes, I have. There’s enough style to forgive the occasional lack of substance but I wonder if there is enough of a plot to sustain the remaining five episodes.

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